On the journey

February 6, 2016

The natural, the ordinary, the simple

Seamus Heaney

Shirted and tie-d,
we might think them
conventional
- at first;
trussed up
in society's garb -
its colours
and cut.
The rendering of
the eye,
the leaning
of the head,
the concentrated
brow
indicate
more,
much, much
more:
Their inner vision,
their compulsion,
their observation
and reflection -
keen,
oh, so keen.
In the hidden
private
rooms of
their minds,
they saw
differently.
Convention
in retreat.
Heroing
the natural,
the ordinary,
the simple.
A vision we hadn't known.
A vision we need to know
again.
Portraits of: John Keats by Joseph Severn, Seamus Heaney by Tai-Shan Schierenberg,William Wordsworth by Benjamin Robert Haydon.
At the National Portrait Gallery, London [photo edited to appear in monochrome]